Effective Internet Dialogues

An internet website as a complement to traditional routes of customer information and customer service justifies investment into a high-quality website by offering new and attractive services and information for customers, access to new markets, and cost effective, fast customer support.

A precondition are defined, verifiable targets, an effective strategy for reaching these targets, and appropriate, customer focussed quality management procedures.

The operator of a website must be able to understand the conditions for a positive cost/benefit ratio of an online presence. Successful, quality-minded organisations avoid to run the risk of damaging their image by unattractive web pages. Quality assurance is part of a long term enterprise strategy. An appropriate strategy includes the use of appropriate metrics and measurements for all phases of website development which allow fast decisions and responses to changes in the market.

Quality for users and customers requires, as a minimum, contents and dialogues which are free from defects – but in addition features are required which make the site attractive and competitive.

When should the quality of websites be controlled and performance be measured?

• Before a new version is publicized on the Internet, shortcomings can be identified systematically and corrected to avoid that valuable customer relations are impaired by unsatisfactory offerings.
   
• The continuous monitoring of customer responses after publication is the basis for further development of an Internet service.

Standardised and validated methods for measuring the important quality attributes of websites are available, but not every approach is applicable to all problem situations. We can support you by selecting the most appropriate approach, and by introducing a tailored and efficient procedure.

(c) ACit GmbH 1999, 2000